Review by Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 2. Will spring ever come? Will there be black raspberries and cream in my breakfast bowl? asks an impatient young mouse, to which his mother patiently replies, Yes . . . but now it is winter. Now there is oatmeal in your bowl. More questions about spring follow. In answer to each, Mother points out something that is enjoyable in the wintertime. When the little mouse longs to roll down steep, grassy hills; play tag with his friends in the park; and make paper kites, Mom reminds him that he can sail downhill on his sled, ice skate with his friends, and make a snowman. Spinelli's clever juxtaposition celebrates the joys of both seasons, as DePalma's acrylic and cut-paper illustrations depict colorfully clothed mice above and below ground. A subtle antidote to winter doldrums, this is just right for impatient children who, like the mouse, long for a change of season. --Julie Cummins Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-A fretful young mouse learns to live in the moment in this lovely picture book. Through lyrical language, Spinelli presents the youngster's concerns ("Will spring ever come?/Will I hear the sleepy sound/of soft rain/pattering on the roof?") and his mother's reassurances ("Yes, there will be spring and rain./But now it is winter./Now sleet twinkles down/sprinkling the roof"). While his brothers and sisters frolic through the snow in the gorgeous acrylic and cut-paper illustrations, the little creature trails after his mother, asking when he will next experience his favorite springtime activities, foods, and animals. She opens his eyes to the joys of the present, and the last illustration shows him hanging up a drawing of the snowman he has made with her next to his picture of a springtime sun. Textured brush strokes capture the crisp beauty of winter and the warm coziness of the animals' home. The gentle, intimate tone makes this book a natural bedtime story or a quietly compelling read-aloud for any time.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Maryland School for the Deaf, Columbia (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A little mouse keeps asking his mother if spring will come--""Will I roll down steep grassy hills / giggling towards the bottom? / Ever again?"" Her answers--like his questions, they appear in a poemlike column--both reassure him and point out the perks of winter (buttery oatmeal; sledding), as does the acrylic and cut-paper art in an icy palette. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Jolly cut-paper snowflakes festoon acrylic paintings in this gentle paean to living in the now. A mouse family lives cozily under the roots of a tree and the voice is of the youngest. He asks his mother, "Will spring ever come? Will there be black raspberries . . . in my breakfast bowl?" His mother responds to each question, reminding him that yes, spring will come, and berries, but there are current joys, like oatmeal and butter and brown sugar. The past and future pleasures of rolling in the grass, gathering daisies, and looking for fairies are laid against the present ones of sledding downhill, gathering pinecones, and spying snow angels. The bright colors of the mouse family's clothing and household goods contrast with the pale snow-washed colors of outside, and those great snowflakes tumble everywhere. A lovely winter story. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
